All posts by Fab

Ep. 1 – La Idea, el Land Rover y la Puesta a Punto

Ep. 1 – La Idea, el Land Rover y la Puesta a Punto

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Una de las primeras preguntas que la gente siempre nos hace es ¿Por qué estáis haciendo esto, cómo se te ocurrió la idea de StartupDiaries, y por qué diablos Sudamérica?
Continúa leyendo para saber qué es lo que hace que dos frikis de la tecnología dejen la comodidad de sus casas y se lleven el negocio en su itinerario, que duerman en un auto durante 6 meses y entrevisten a personas que están inventando la cultura del trabajo del mañana.

 

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Ep. 1: The Idea, The Land Rover, and Getting Setup

Ep. 1: The Idea, The Land Rover, and Getting Setup

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How many startups do you think there are in South America?

Good luck guessing. Surely tens of thousands. Hundreds? A million?

Startup Diaries is probably the only one working out of a Land Rover Defender.

This is the story of Startup Diaries’ adventures traveling across South America, starting in Buenos Aires, and like every great adventure, without a clue where it ends.

Along the way, expect to discover surprising, inspiring, and innovative people, startups and companies who are redefining what work in a connected global world means.

Your wanderlust is guaranteed.

Welcome aboard!

Adiós Uruguay!

Adiós Uruguay!

La única razón por la cual en un principio queríamos venir a este país era para renovar nuestra visa para @LaOficina, y quizá también para salir de una agitada Buenos Aires al menos por un tiempo. Nos habían dicho que el panorama de startups/freelancers no estaba muy desarrollado en Montevideo.

Ahora, 10 días después, conduciendo a través de la Pampa Argentina con El Bolsón como destino en nuestro GPS, llevamos nuestras mochilas llenas de increíbles recuerdos y un disco duro repleto de muy buen material de vídeo. ¿Que el panorama no era interesante? ¿Quién lo dijo?

Comenzamos contactando con @Carolina Bañales, cofundadora deglamst.com.

Servicial como ella sola, Carolina nos puso en contacto con Elisa Tuyaré, la cual nos entrevistó en la sección de “Café & Negocios Emprendedores” del periódico uruguayo @El Observador. También a Carolina debemos el contacto que hicimos con María Elias, manager de @Co-Work Montevideo, quien nos facilitó un lugar de trabajo, nos guió a través del espacio de trabajo compartido y nos presentó literalmente a todos las personas que trabajan allí. Fue emocionante ver cómo María Elias vive realmente su papel de gerente, colaborando con todos y manteniéndose al tanto de los desafíos y necesidades de cada equipo o individuo que trabaja en el Co-Work mientras nos ayudaba en todo lo que hizo falta; algo que echo en falta en los espacios de oficina-compartida de Berlín.

Entrevistamos a @Sergio Delgado Coto de davinci.uy, una de las incubadoras de Uruguay, quien nos dio una copia firmada de su libro “Emprendedores.uy”, que estudia el éxito de 12 jóvenes emprendedores de Internet uruguayos. Gracias Sergio, estoy seguro de que @Dominic aprenderá mucho castellano con tu libro!

@Fabian Fernández, CEO de kzsoftworks.com, nos invitó a su oficina-patio y tuvimos una agradable charla sobre la escena de las startups en Montevideo mientras disfrutamos de un refresco y sándwiches y @Dominic aprovechaba la Wifi para trabajar.

La suerte continuó de nuestro lado: alguien de Co-Work Montevideo mencionó en Twitter que estábamos en la ciudad y José Manuel Blanco tras leer este tweet nos entrevistó para la sección de noticias tecnológicas “Hoja de Router” de la revista digital española @ElDiario.es.

Sin duda alguna, el momento cumbre de nuestro viaje ha sido poder visitar y trabajar en el espacio de co-working más increíble que jamás he visto @Sinergia.

Lo primero es agradecer a Macarena por la visita guiada que nos hizo a través del espacio de trabajo. Mientras atravesábamos pequeñas oficinas y espacios abiertos vimos gente construyendo sus propias impresoras 3D clonadas, otras haciendo drones y diseñadores cambiando la manera en la cual vemos el branding. La entrevista más divertida e inspiradora de todas ha sido la que ha tenido a los magos de @13floors como protagonistas, que mientras beben mate nos hablan de su absoluta fe en el poder del software gratuito con una sincera actitud de ¡vamos-a-cambiar-el-mundo! Gracias chicos, ¡nos habéis inspirado profundamente!

Sinergia es un modelo ejemplar de espacio de trabajo compartido: un lugar creativo y diverso que promueve la colaboración de los que allí trabajan.

Gracias también a los crupiers de Blackjack del Casino de Montevideo. Vin hizo una fortuna y desapareció durante 3 días, sólo Dios sabe qué estaba haciendo

Y por último pero no menos importante, un cálido y enorme Gracias a Mirna, nuestra maravillosa anfitriona de AirBNB quien nos facilitó un lugar relajado cercano a la playa. Cuando le preguntamos que a qué se dedicaba nos contó que es psicóloga y que empezó a dar sesiones terapéuticas por Skype cuando se fue a Mallorca hace 10 años. A través de las videoconferencias fue capaz de mantener a sus pacientes de Uruguay y en la actualidad tiene pacientes de todas partes del mundo.

Este ha sido un magnífico comienzo, no nos podemos sentir más bienvenidos aquí! Te echaremos de menos Uruguay, nos vemos en unos 6 meses, que te vaya bien y no te quedes nunca sin mate

Tuyo,
Startupdiaries.org

Good bye Uruguay!

Good bye Uruguay!

The sole reason we initially wanted to go to your country for was to renew our visa for LaOficina, and maybe to get out of hectic Buenos Aires for a while. We were told there isn’t much of a startup/freelancer scene in Montevideo.
Now, 10 days later, driving through the Pampa Argentina, with “El Bolson” set as destination in our GPS, we have our backpacks stuffed with amazing memories and a hard drive full of great video footage. Not much of a scene? Bulls$$t!

It started by contacting Carolina Banales, Co-founder of GlamST, a startup with the goal of changing the way women buy beauty products online.
Helpful as she was, she connected us with Eli Tuyaré who interviewed us for the “Café & Negocios Emprendedores” section of uruguayan newspaper El Observador. Carolina hooked us up with María Elia, manager of Co-Work Uruguay, who provided us with a space to work, gave us a tour through the shared office and connected us with literaly everyone working there. It was exciting to witness how Maria Elias really lives her role as a collaboration manager, keeping a close eye on the challenges and needs of every team and individual working at the Co-Work while also helping us out where she could; something I missed in Berliner co-works.

We interviewed Sergio Delgado Coto from davinci.uy, one of Uruguay’s incubators, who passed us a signed copy of his book Fundadores.uy, examining the success of 12 young Uruguayan internet entrepreneurs. Thanks Sergio, I’m sure Donimic will learn a lot of Spanish with it!

Fabian Fernandez, CEO of kzsoftworks.com, invited us to their backyard office and we had a nice chat about the scene in Montevideo over cola and sandwiches while Dominic used the WIFI to get some work done.

Fortune continued to be on our side: Someone in Co-Work Montevideo mentioned we’re in town on twitter, José Manuel Blanco read the tweet and interviewd us for the “Hoja de Router”, the technology news section of the spainish digital magazine eldiario.es

The highlight of our trip: visiting and working at the most awesome co-working space I ever saw – Sinergia Cowork

First off, we need to thank Macarena for giving us the awesome tour. What we found while passing small offices and open spaces where people building their own self cloning 3D printers, others building drones and designers changing the way we view branding. The interview that was definitly the most fun and inspiring was the mate drinking code wizards from 13floor.org who believe in the power of free software and got a real let’s-change-the-world attitude. Thanks for that guys, you really inspired us!
Sinergia is a role model of a cork working space: a diverse and creative place promoting collaboration.

Thank yous also go out to the Black Jack dealers at the Casino in Montevideo. Vin made half a fortune and then dissapeared for 3 days, god knows what he was doing

Last but not least, a big warm thank you to Andrea for showing me beautiful Punta del Diablo and to Mirna, our wonderful AirBNB host who provided us with a peaceful place near the beach. When asking what she did she told us that she’s a psychologist and started to do therapy sessions via Skype when leaving for 10 years to Mallorca. By doing videoconferencing she was able to keep her patients based in Uruguay and now has clients from all over the globe.

This was an awesome start, we can’t possible feel more welcome here!
We’ll miss you Uruguay, see you in about 6 months, we wish you the best, may you never run out of mate

Yours,
startupdiaries.org

How A Stolen Backpack Inspired Us to Drive Across South America

How A Stolen Backpack Inspired Us to Drive Across South America

 

One of the first questions people ask us is “Why are you doing this?”. Which is generally followed up with “how did you come up with the idea for Startup Diaries?” and “why the hell South America?”.

They are pretty valid questions. What makes two geeks leave their comfortable homes, take their business on the road, sleep in a Land Rover Defender for 6 months and interview people who are inventing the working culture of tomorrow?

Why Startup Diaries and Why South America?

 

It all started with having my backpack stolen in Recife, northern Brazil. It was the day after Germany obliterated Brazil 7:1. It was the (first) day I felt a bit uncomfortable when people asked me where I was from, and I sometimes would say that I was Swedish (instead of German).

During that afternoon I attended an art exhibition with a Brazilian friend. When we came back all windows of the cars in the street were broken and my backpack was gone!

The GoPro? Also Gone.
iPhone? Gone.
Kindle? Yup, gone too.

It was quite depressing and sad, not a feeling of a material loss, but that of a general sense of insecurity.

Being the German workaholic I am, the next morning I made a plan. I would improve my mood by going to a co-working space, get some work done (yes, working makes me happy!), and make some money to replace the stolen goods. I sat down next to Edmilson Rodriguez, founder of EducationDream.com.br, a platform with a great cause – bringing together people from poor backgrounds who would like to get an education and potential sponsors. I told Ed what happened to me the night before. The next day Ed took me out to lunch in the old part of town in Recife. Sitting at the table, with a that Brazilian warmth that few other nations have, Ed handed me a book in a ceremonial fashion. It was a book all about Brazilian entrepreneurs. “This is a present for you Fabian, so you can not only improve your Portuguese, but also learn about the cool entrepreneurial
culture in Brazil”.

I opened the book and found a note on the first page:

“Fabian, what happened to you is horrible. I hope that you will also see the developing, innovative, and smart side of our country!”

I was moved. A guy I just met had cared enough about what happened to me and about what I thought about his country, to give me a present to encourage a positive outlook!

Forming the Idea

 

For the next 1.5 hours, Ed and I walked through the old city center and what happened there inspired the creation of StartupDiaries.

With Ed every second building turned into a cool company, an angel investor or a startup incubator. Ed knew everyone, introduced me to people and after a while I had a pocket full of business cards. In my head, Brazil had magically transformed. What before were old and rundown buildings, had become hubs of innovation, with smart people working on cool projects. This was the other side of Latin America, the one you don’t read about in your Lonely Planet, National Geographic or in the news.

I met inspired people, full of optimism, with the guts to take the future into their own hands and pursue a dream, usually with the goal of changing something in their society for the better.

This was the Latin America I wanted to discover and share! And so StartupDiaries was born.

Three guys in a van hunting down the modern “Che Guevaras of work” who despite social pressure and economic difficulties, say “No” to a well payed and hard-to-escape job in a big corporation. These people went on to pursue what they really wanted to do. StartupDiaries is about these innovators and risk-takers, the lives they lead, their optimism, hopes and dreams, and above all the challenges they face and the difference they make.

StartupDiaries is also about us, Dominic and me, running an IT company from road, being an extreme example of what we might usually describe as being “digital nomads”. We are fascinated with the future of work and are convinced that there will be more and more people making the jump to being then roaming freelancers of the future. There are people that prefer to work free of fixed time schedules, of corporate demands and omnipresent bosses. The goal is to have a freer lifestyle, fewer limitations,
unpredictability and regularly inspiration.

How can you put a price-tag on experiencing the world while earning a living, not having to commute (except to move from one city to the next), and spending more quality time friends?

Bear with us folks, we just got into this video thing, it will only get better from now on.

Cheers,
Fabio, on behalf of your StartupDiaries team.

PS: If you’d like to support us, please share and like this page, subscribe to our Youtube channel and (/or) tell the whole world about it!

If you like what we’re doing, just click LIKE here and leave a comment:

 

How A Stolen Backpack Inspired Us to Drive Across South America

How A Stolen Backpack Inspired Us to Drive Across South America

 

One of the first questions people ask us is “Why are you doing this?”. Which is generally followed up with “how did you come up with the idea for Startup Diaries?” and “why the hell South America?”.

They are pretty valid questions. What makes two geeks leave their comfortable homes, take their business on the road, sleep in a Land Rover Defender for 6 months and interview people who are inventing the working culture of tomorrow?

Why Startup Diaries and Why South America?

 

It all started with having my backpack stolen in Recife, northern Brazil. It was the day after Germany obliterated Brazil 7:1. It was the (first) day I felt a bit uncomfortable when people asked me where I was from, and I sometimes would say that I was Swedish (instead of German).

During that afternoon I attended an art exhibition with a Brazilian friend. When we came back all windows of the cars in the street were broken and my backpack was gone!

The GoPro? Also Gone.
iPhone? Gone.
Kindle? Yup, gone too.

It was quite depressing and sad, not a feeling of a material loss, but that of a general sense of insecurity.

Being the German workaholic I am, the next morning I made a plan. I would improve my mood by going to a co-working space, get some work done (yes, working makes me happy!), and make some money to replace the stolen goods. I sat down next to Edmilson Rodriguez, founder of EducationDream.com.br, a platform with a great cause – bringing together people from poor backgrounds who would like to get an education and potential sponsors. I told Ed what happened to me the night before. The next day Ed took me out to lunch in the old part of town in Recife. Sitting at the table, with a that Brazilian warmth that few other nations have, Ed handed me a book in a ceremonial fashion. It was a book all about Brazilian entrepreneurs. “This is a present for you Fabian, so you can not only improve your Portuguese, but also learn about the cool entrepreneurial
culture in Brazil”.

I opened the book and found a note on the first page:

“Fabian, what happened to you is horrible. I hope that you will also see the developing, innovative, and smart side of our country!”

I was moved. A guy I just met had cared enough about what happened to me and about what I thought about his country, to give me a present to encourage a positive outlook!

Forming the Idea

 

For the next 1.5 hours, Ed and I walked through the old city center and what happened there inspired the creation of StartupDiaries.

With Ed every second building turned into a cool company, an angel investor or a startup incubator. Ed knew everyone, introduced me to people and after a while I had a pocket full of business cards. In my head, Brazil had magically transformed. What before were old and rundown buildings, had become hubs of innovation, with smart people working on cool projects. This was the other side of Latin America, the one you don’t read about in your Lonely Planet, National Geographic or in the news.

I met inspired people, full of optimism, with the guts to take the future into their own hands and pursue a dream, usually with the goal of changing something in their society for the better.

This was the Latin America I wanted to discover and share! And so StartupDiaries was born.

Three guys in a van hunting down the modern “Che Guevaras of work” who despite social pressure and economic difficulties, say “No” to a well payed and hard-to-escape job in a big corporation. These people went on to pursue what they really wanted to do. StartupDiaries is about these innovators and risk-takers, the lives they lead, their optimism, hopes and dreams, and above all the challenges they face and the difference they make.

StartupDiaries is also about us, Dominic and me, running an IT company from road, being an extreme example of what we might usually describe as being “digital nomads”. We are fascinated with the future of work and are convinced that there will be more and more people making the jump to being then roaming freelancers of the future. There are people that prefer to work free of fixed time schedules, of corporate demands and omnipresent bosses. The goal is to have a freer lifestyle, fewer limitations,
unpredictability and regularly inspiration.

How can you put a price-tag on experiencing the world while earning a living, not having to commute (except to move from one city to the next), and spending more quality time friends?

Bear with us folks, we just got into this video thing, it will only get better from now on.

Cheers,
Fabio, on behalf of your StartupDiaries team.

PS: If you’d like to support us, please share and like this page, subscribe to our Youtube channel and (/or) tell the whole world about it!

If you like what we’re doing, just click LIKE here and leave a comment: